D.H. Shultis, co-creator and co-writer of the Blood & Gourd, sees the corporate culture as one that may imperil community-based storytelling because corporations that tell most of the stories today are only looking at stories that will make money. These profitable stories can be limited in scope and just plain boring because they are all the same story.

“It’s just human to tell stories,” says Shultis.

Shultis sees the independent market as a continuation of what people have done throughout history: tell stories around the campfire, within the oral tradition, books and other media.

“It’s really about getting stories out there that matter,” says Shultis.

The Blood & Gourd story is about pumpkins taking over Olympia, WA, where he and co-creator Jenz K. Lund went to grad school.

“We decided to write where we know,” says Shultis, who is based in Portland along with the publishing company Dead Peasant. “On the surface, it’s a really simple horror story.”

However, Shultis also says that the story is fun, and it is “about doing the thing that needs to be done even if you don’t want to do it.”

While Shultis is a licensed counselor, he feels a burning need to create every day, and Blood & Gourd is part of the fruits of his labor. The excitement he feels about the book comes from the creative process.

“This is what our life can be about,” says Shultis. “Get out there and create.”

Shultis and Lund were at the Northwest Comic Fest August 15 and 16, 2015 selling their comic book and talking about the Kickstarter that they have for the second issue.

“Crowdfunding is about the only way to get (the publishing) done,” says Shultis. The deadline for the Kickstarter is August 24, 2015.

This story was originally published at examiner.com. Links updated July 2016.